The Blackberry Torch - Is It Worth Buying?

In August 2010, Blackberry released their latest handset to the international market. Called the Blackberry Torch, this new incarnation of the popular Blackberry platform comes with a brand new operating system, sleek design and slide functionality with a full keyboard. Blackberry announced this new phone as their best ever, which is to be expected, but what does everyone else think?

In terms of its specifications, the Torch can quite easily say it is the best ever Blackberry, as it offers many more features than all previous models. The Torch comes with 4 gigabytes internal storage capacity with a 4 gigabyte MicroSD included in the box, a 3.2 inch LCD touchscreen display, a full QWERTY keyboard, a 5 megapixel camera and WiFi capability; all engineered to work on the brand new 6th generation Blackberry OS.

The Torch is meant to demonstrate a new direction for Research in Motion, with the target audience being the average consumer. Though with competition from the likes of the Galaxy S and iPhone 4G, it is a tough market. It is fair to say that the Torch is a great Blackberry, possibly not the best relative to technological advances, but certainly great. The slide function reveals a full QWERTY keyboard that most have said is the best available on the market today; it may not be as big as on previous Blackberries, but then they were not slide phones. The new operating system is unfortunately not a completely revamped system; more of a majorly updated 5th generation OS, but that does not mean it is not good. In fact, the new OS is probably the best improvement on the handset, as for the old target consumers, multitasking was one of the most important functions, and the Torch can do this better than most.

Although the Torch has the features, and the 6th Gen OS is better, it is simply not as good as the competition at most other functions. The processor that is used in the Torch is strangely the same unit from the 9700 model, but modified slightly; meaning that its 600Mhz clock speed is way down on the competition and can seem sluggish compared to the Google Nexus One and Apple iPhone.

There are many people in this world that buy phones based on the brand name alone. With these particular people, it is not about the functionality, it is about the look. If you are one of these people then the Blackberry Torch is probably right for you. It is new, it looks good and it is a phone with a nice name. Other than those points, it does not have a lot going for it when compared to the competition. So, if you are not controlled by fashion, stay away. It seems that all the promise that RIM gave the public about the new direction, the new outlook, a new generation of handsets for a wider audience just boiled down to a diluted experience with a handset that looks good but performs poorly compared to its competitors.